Cowgirl up

When Makenly Davis of Post Falls rode a horse for the first time, she didn't want to go any faster than a simple trot around the arena.

Now - she's got a need for speed.

Davis, 13, will compete in the National Junior High Finals Rodeo, which runs June 23-29 at Red Rock Park in Gallup, N.M.

It started for Davis as a baby after visiting her grandmother in Kooskia.

"My grandma has horses and when I was a little and we used to ride horses at her house," Davis said. "When I was 5, I started doing little rodeos where she lives and then, when I was 7, I started getting into bigger rodeos and started winning a lot - so it just kept getting bigger and bigger. I saw my cousin doing it and thought that it was something I always wanted to do."

Davis - who will begin the eighth grade at Post Falls Middle School in the fall - is the top-ranked female in the state of Washington in goat tying in her 13-14 age group, and will compete in that event on Monday and next Friday night. Goat tying is where the competitor rides 100 feet, then jumps off the horse and, with a 10-foot rope, flanks the goat and ties it.

She also qualified in breakaway roping, which is an event where the competitor comes out of the box on the horse, then ropes the calf around the neck. In that event, she will compete Sunday night and Saturday morning.

"Last year, I didn't make it to nationals, which made me really sad and upset," Davis said. "So I kept practicing all winter and just practiced and practiced to get where I'm at today."

She'll be riding her horses Fanci (goat tying) and Rio (roping) in the event.

Her fastest time in tying is 8.1 seconds, and 2.9 seconds in roping.

"I've always liked roping more," Davis said. "But goat tying is definitely more fun."

In the fourth grade, Davis went to nationals as a spectator and since, has wanted to compete at nationals.

"I'm really nervous, but excited for the experience," Davis said. "I went with my friends to get the motivation to get there. I can't wait for it to start."

Davis trains year-round at an horse arena in Colbert, Wash.

"I was going to do track this year, but decided not to because of the amount of time I'm training," Davis said. "Every day I'm riding, so there's not much time to do anything else. All of my friends like to come over and ride the horses. My best friend comes over all the time and rides my oldest horse and calls it her horse because she's over here all the time. All of my friends have their own special bonds with the horse because most of them don't have horses of their own - so they just come over and they just love them."

Two years ago, Davis suffered a broken left collarbone during a training session.

"We came out of the gate and the horse tripped and fell right down on me," Davis said. "I had to have one surgery to put a pin in and another to take it out. When I first got on a horse, I didn't want to go faster than a trot, but I just love the speed so much. But I'm always aware that it can happen again."

Her older sister, Katelyn Loper, will be a redshirt junior on the Oregon women's basketball team this year.

"You can go to college for rodeo, but you can't get the kind of scholarships you can for basketball," Davis said. "But it's something that I definitely want to do."

Currently, Davis has a Junior High/High School card, which allows her to compete in some pro events, but not the full tour.

"I'm pretty much riding every day," Davis said. "During the fall, I'm only doing a few rodeos, but during the summer it's almost every weekend."

She can't turn pro until she's 18 years old.

"Makenly is totally a Hannah Montana," her mother, Tami Davis said. "She has her city life and her rodeo life."